Forbes' latest list ranks the world's
highest-paid DJs over the past year.
With the increasing popularity and
resurgenceof electronic dance music, better known as EDM, DJ paydays have also
seen a record high.
The top ten "Electronic Cash
Kings," as Forbes calls them, earned anywhere from $7 million to $22
million in the past year alone.
As Forbes points out:
One need only look at the recent activities
of the genre’s most prominent practitioners: Last year, Skrillex was one of the
main attractions at Coachella; last month, Deadmau5 ended up on the cover of
Rolling Stone; last week, Kaskade became the first electronic act to sell out
the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The proof is in the hundred-dollar ticket
prices, EDM is officially mainstream. And the top earners who hide behind
computers with headphones on, all of whom are male, are reaping the benefits.
And unlike rock bands and pop stars who
take home just one-third of gross ticket sales, DJ's production costs are often
extremely minor as they simply require a USB stick, headphones and a laptop.
Forbes put together the following ranking
after looking at recorded music sales, endorsements, merchandise sales, and
sourcing Pollstar, RIAA, promoters, managers, lawyers, and some of the artists
themselves.
10. Avicii—$7 Million
AP
This 22-year-old Swede spins all over the
world with his two essential tools: "a thumb drive and a good set of head
phones."
He also picked up a Grammy nomination this
year for Best Dance Single and was a featured performer at this year's
Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago.
"Major festivals can pay [acts]
$1,000–$2 million ... Music has gotten huge thanks to the internet,"
Lollapalooza co-founder and artists booker, Marc Geiger, told Bloomberg.
9. Afrojack—$9 Million
Getty
The former boyfriend of Paris Hilton, this
Dutch DJ also moonlights as a music producer.
He was featured on Pitbull's number one hit
single "Give Me Everything" and contributed to Beyoncé's single
"Run the World (Girls)."
Afrojack also runs Wall Recordings, which
has Dutchhouse DJs such as himself signed onto the label.
8. Kaskade—$10 Million
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41-year-old Ryan Raddon, better known as
Kaskade, performed 125 shows over the past year, according to Forbes.
The Illinois-born DJ rose to prominence
alongside Deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner during the revival of American
progressive in late 2008–early 2009.
7. DJ Pauly D—$11 Million
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In addition to his "Jersey Shore"
paycheck from MTV, DJ Pauly D gets half his annual earnings from the 132 DJ
gigs he played over the past year.
And the reality TV star has managed to
parlay his fame into a lucrative DJ career, commanding an average of $40,000
per club gig, private parties, and a stint opening for Britney Spears on her
Femme Fatale tour.
Pauly D also launched a clothing line
called Dirty Couture, a Pauly D Bronze Beats tanning lotion, plans for an SMS
Audio headphone line with 50 Cent, a beverage called REMIX Pre-Game Cocktails
in partnership with a Grey Goose cofounder, and a spinoff series titled
"The Pauly D Project."
But with success comes the haters,
including the competition. After Deadmau5 said "there's nothing creative
about" Pauly D's work, the MTV star tweeted:
“T-shirt $40. Jeans $100. Hair gel $12. Getting hated on by deadmau5:
priceless.”
6. Deadmau5—$11.5 Million
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Joel Thomas Zimmerman, better known as
Deadmau5 (pronounced "dead mouse") or the DJ who wears an enlarged
Mickey Mouse head, is a 31-year-old electro-house music producer, DJ, and
performer based in Toronto.
In 2009, he was the best-selling artist on
Beatport with more than 30,000 digital downloads with his singles "Not
Exactly," "Faxing Berlin," and "Ghosts 'n' Stuff."
5. Steve Aoki—$12 Million
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While Aoki earns less per gig than his DJ
counterparts, according to Forbes, he plays more gigs than most—performing over
200 days a year.
The 34-year-old American electro-house
musician, record producer and founder of Dim Mak Records also co-owns a
management company called DECKSTAR with the late DJ AM. The roster boasts
artists such as Blink 182, Holy Ghost! and Rancid.
Not that Aoki needs the money, as he's the
heir to the Benihana fortune. His father,founded the restaurant chain, was also
a former Japanese wrestler.
4. David Guetta—$13.5 Million
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This French DJ earns his paycheck by
performing at countless music festivals all over the world, including this
year's Coachella.
After entering the pop music world with his
album "Nothing but the Beat," Guetta also got an endorsement deal
with HP to showcase the TouchPad and appeared in a TV commercial, print and
billboard advertising, and two videos.
The partnership was beneficial for webOS
and the TouchPad, as Guetta’s videos are viewed an average of 100 million times
on his YouTube channel.
Guetta has since collaborated with Nicki
Minaj, Akon, Sia, Usher, Ludacris, Chris Brown, and Lil Wayne, among others.
3. Swedish House Mafia—$14 Million
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This Swedish DJ trio were the first
electronic act to headline at Madison Square Garden and tickets to their shows
sell for hundreds of dollars.
SHM manager Amy Thomson told Billboard
there was no giant sponsor underwriting the MSG event and major marketing
campaign planned. The idea was simply to throw "the biggest private party
on earth ... There's no TV, no above-the-line glossy magazines. All our
advertising is just three dots, and if you don't know what they are, cool—don't
come."
2. Skrillex—$15 Million
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At just 24 years old, this California-born
DJ has already won three Grammy awards after he made "dubstep"—a
genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London—popular
worldwide.
“I’ve been listening to electronic music since I was 12,” Skrillex
told Forbes. “Even when I played in rock bands, I've been making it … This is
the first time it’s gotten so big.”
In December 2011, he was named MTV's
Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year.
As of February, Skrillex has been dating
fellow artist and singer, Ellie Goulding, who performed at Prince William and
Kate Middleton's Royal Wedding.
1. Tiësto—$22 Million
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According to Pollstar, this Dutch-born DJ
pulls in up to $250,000 per night playing all over the world.
At age 43, he has his own label, Black Hole
Recordings, and was the first DJ to ever play live on stage at the Olympics,
spinning at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
